WWE Survivor Series: Keith Lee’s star shined versus Roman Reigns

Still reeling from last night’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view (PPV), the night was undoubtedly packed with action, solid storytelling, great matches, a plenty of surprises.

WWE NXT came out as leader of the brand pack, punching in four solid wins, including the Women’s Traditional match, the Cruiserweight Championship bout, the Women’s Championship match, and thanks to Roderick Strong, Team Yellow scored another win when it came to the mid-card titles bout.

As most fans of pro wrestling know, you can score a loss though and still score a win with the fans (and vice versa) when the right story is told and a spotlight is shone on your talents, and while NXT superstar Keith Lee failed to pull out the win for his team during the men’s traditional Survivor Series bout, his star (and star power) shined incredibly last night.

That, “and then there was three” moment, standing tall amongst two of the top WWE superstars on any roster right now (and two of the top talents in this industry in recent years), Lee distinguished himself from the NXT pack just by standing in that ring with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns.

Like most fans, I was pleasantly surprised to see he was the final NXT man to survive this bout, but the symbolism was not lost on the idea that, while he might have been the underdog in that three-man in-ring party, he was also worthy of being there.

Lee outlasted Tommaso Ciampa, would end up eliminating Monday Night Rollins (via a Spirit Bomb), and was close to doing the same to Roman after he was able to kick out at two during a pin, post two Superman Punches. He even came very close to pinning The Big Dog on his own as well.

To boot, his demise in the match was from missing a Moonsault, then taking a spear by Reigns; however, his Survivor Series gloss (and a little rub) remained when he and Roman shared some mutual respect via a fist-pump after all was said in done.

This not only secured the concept that Lee have a stellar night, but also offered a tease towards a potential push in the near future (hopefully) for Lee.

More than pinning Seth Rollins, and going toe-to-toe with The Big Dog, Lee showcased his agility, his strength, powerhouse capabilities, his larger-than-life stance, and aggression; proving to WWE audiences around the world why wrestling fans should be tuning into NXT on Wednesday nights.

Perhaps one can say his incredible Survivor Series shine began the night before at NXT TakeOver, with his Men’s WarGames team (along with Ciampa, Dominik Dijakovic, and Kevin Owens) winning their respective match against Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish, and Roderick Strong; another great performance by all eight men in the bout, including Keith Lee.

Regardless, social media, fans, and wrestling journalists have exploded since Lee’s performance last night, with hopes and aspirations that there is more to come from this incredible talent in the weeks and months to follow.

I have a feeling the WWE Universe will be privy to much more from Keith Lee, come 2020.